With the lead bouncing back and forth throughout the morning, the East Team grabbed hold of the lead heading into the afternoon and never let go. For the first time since 2003, the East enters Day Two at Canon Cup with the lead, 8-7. The event is being held at The Honors Course.

The American Junior Golf Association’s Canon Cup, now in its 18th year, brings together the nation’s top 40 juniors in an East versus West (divided by the Mississippi River) team match play tournament. Each squad consists of 20 players – 10 boys and 10 girls – who were selected based on the Polo Golf Rankings that rewarded them for top finishes in national junior golf events. In all-time competition the two teams are tied with records of 8-8-1.

The four-ball matches began Tuesday morning with the East taking an early lead by winning the first match of the day. Lion Kim of Lake Mary, Fla., and Wesley Graham of Port Orange, Fla., won 3 and 2 over Andrew Putnam of University Place, Wash., and Andrew Yun of Tacoma, Wash., after Kim poured in a putt from 15 feet on No. 16.

“The first point is really important,” Kim said. “We just had a lot of fun and played great together.”

After the second match was halved, the West quickly rebounded by winning the next two matches. Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., and Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion and U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, respectively, were on fire during their match, making the turn at 5-under-par as a team and never losing a hole. They eventually closed out Allie White of Lancaster, Ohio, and Courtney Ellenbogen of Blacksburg, Va., 4 and 3.

“We played solid all day and picked each other up when we needed to,” Harigae said. “I still think it’s going to come down to the final day, though.”

As the morning matches wore on, the score stayed close and the matches grew tighter, with the final four morning matches going at least 17 holes. Bud Cauley of Jacksonville, Fla., and Spencer Cole of Greer, S.C., broke a 4.5-4.5 tie to send the East into the afternoon with a one-point lead.

Things remained close as the afternoon mixed foursome matches unfolded and produced only one match that did not make it to No. 18. In the first three matches, the East and West teams split, each winning one and halving one The final two matches showed the true spirit of the Canon Cup with nearly every member of each team walking alongside the players. Alex Shi Yup Kim of Fullerton, Calif., and Jenny Shin of Torrance, Calif., climbed back from 2-down to halve their match.

“Everyone is so enthusiastic right now,” Kim said. “It is so intense out there, but we had a lot of fun.”

And in a reversal of roles, Cauley and Ellenbogen approached No. 18 green 1-down. With the 18th green surrounded by red and blue, Ellenbogen sank her putt to win the hole and halve the final match of the day.

“On 18, I felt I owed it to the team to make it. Everyone played so well and it is important to support them,” Ellenbogen said. “All the credit goes to Bud Cauley, though, for hitting a great shot into the green.”

The East Team heads into the Day Two matches with a one-point lead.

Play will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m., off the first tee with foursome matches. The mixed four-ball matches will begin in the afternoon and are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.

In 1990 the inaugural Canon Cup featured then rising stars Tiger Woods and Emilee Klein representing the West team, squaring off against Stewart Cink and Vicki Goetze defending the East. Since then notable juniors to represent the East include Charles Howell III, David Gossett and Casey Wittenberg. Alumni of the West team include Ryan Moore, Grace Park and Paula Creamer.

OOLTEWAH, Tn.

DAY ONE TOTAL: East 8, West 7

DAY ONE MORNING FOUR-BALL MATCHES: East 5.5, West 4.5

Lion Kim, Lake Mary, Fla. (2007) & Wesley Graham, Port Orange, Fla. (2008) EAST def.

Andrew Yun, Tacoma, Wash. (2009) & Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (2007) WEST, 3 and 2

Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas (2009) & Taylore Karle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2007) WEST vs.

Isabelle Lendl, Bradenton, Fla. (2009) & Kristina Wong, Bradenton, Fla. (2009) EAST, Halved

Cody Gribble, Dallas, Texas (2009) & William Kropp, Edmond, Okla. (2008) WEST def.

John Hahn, Kent, Ohio (2007) & David Sanders, Mt. Laurel, N.J. (2008) EAST, 3 and 2

Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (2008) & Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii (2009) WEST def.

Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg, Va. (2009) & Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio (2008) EAST, 4 and 3

Morgan Hoffmann, Saddlebrook, N.J. (2008) & Luke Guthrie, Quincy, Ill. (2008) EAST def.

Alex Shi Yup Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (2008) & Sang Yi, Carrollton, Texas (2008) WEST, 2-up

Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (2009) & Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (2008) WEST def.

Marika Lendl, Bradenton, Fla. (2008) & Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla. (2009) EAST, 4 and 3

Peter Uihlein, Bradenton, Fla. (2008) & Arnond Vongvanij, Bradenton, Fla. (2007) EAST def.

Josh Jones, The Colony, Texas (2008) & Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas (2010) WEST, 1-up

Joanne Lee, San Carlos, Calif. (2007) & Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (2008) WEST def.

Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (2007) & Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (2013) EAST, 3 and 1

Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. (2008) & Spencer Cole, Greer, S.C. (2007) EAST def.

Connor Driscoll, Encinitas, Calif. (2007) & Sam Chien, San Diego, Calif. (2008) WEST, 1-up

Vicky Hurst, Melbourne, Fla. (2008) & Lindy Duncan, Daytona Beach, Fla. (2009) EAST def.

Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif. (2010) & Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (2012) WEST, 3 and 1

DAY ONE AFTERNOON MIXED FOURSOME MATCHES: East 2.5 West 2.5

Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (2007) & Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas (2009) WEST vs.

John Hahn, Kent, Ohio (2007) & Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio (2008) EAST, Halved

Cody Gribble, Dallas, Texas (2009) & Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (2009) WEST def.

Luke Guthrie, Quincy, Ill. (2008) & Marika Lendl, Bradenton, Fla. (2008) EAST, 2 & 1

Lion Kim, Lake Mary, Fla. (2007) & Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla. (2009) EAST def.

Andrew Yun, Tacoma, Wash. (2009) & Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (2008) WEST, 1-up

Alex Shi Yup Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (2008) & Jenny Shin, Torrance, Calif. (2010) WEST vs.

David Sanders, Mt. Laurel, N.J. (2008) & Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (2007) EAST, Halved

Connor Driscoll, Encinitas, Calif. (2007) & Taylore Karle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (2007) WEST vs.

Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. (2008) & Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg, Va. (2009) EAST, Halved

– Day one results from the Canon Cup conducted by the American Junior Golf Association at The Honors Course. Par: Boys: 36-36--72; Girls: 36-36--72. Yardage: Boys: 7,200; Girls: 6,402. Rating/Slope: Boys: 76.1/151; Girls: 78.4/148.